April 27, 2010

As the school year draws to a close (for those of us in the South), I wanted to revisit something I tweeted months ago: The school’s new reading program stinks! This is not just one of my usual rants. I have witnessed first-hand my girls’ waning interest in reading for 20 and 40 minutes each night (kindergartener and 3rd grader). And I am not happy about this. More importantly, I honestly think they feel the program sucks too (no coercing from me)! DISCLAIMER: If you do not believe in rewarding kids, I suggest you stop reading NOW! Also, when you go into work tomorrow, tell your boss that you will work for free for the remainder of the year….yeah, I thought so.

April 27, 2010, 6:06PM

Official Portland took pains to welcome a ranking government representative from China Tuesday whose agency is helping Oregon launch Chinese-language classes in several schools statewide.

Mayor Sam Adams, Portland State University administrators and Royal Rosarians greeted Xu Lin, China's top official for spreading Chinese language and culture worldwide. China and Portland are moving beyond Adams' recent declaration of a Tibetan awareness day that irked Beijing, which regards Tibet as an integral part of the People's Republic of China.

Xu, a member of China's powerful State Council, runs an agency calledHanban, which has an expanding network of 282 institutes in 90 countries. The Confucius Institutes, including one at PSU and another at the University of Oregon, sponsor classes, lectures, teacher training and other programs. Hanban's mission resembles that of Spain's Instituto Cervantes or Germany's Goethe Institut -- and of the U.S. Information Service, a federal

Superintendent Carole Smith was seeking a way to raise all high school enrollments to 1,350, but chose a less-drastic plan. Planners had said high schools with just 1,000 students are too small. Now they're back-pedaling, and leaders of successful large high schools say small ones can work

MICHELLE RENEE - Founder, Rock to Stop Violence

After my daughter and I survived a home invasion kidnapping and being held hostage for 14 hours as part of a bank robbery scheme, returning to my 13 year executive banking career was not an option. I began searching my heart for a way to combine my love for music with my passion for educating others about the realities of violence, abuse and trauma for women and girls. The answer: Rock To Stop Violence (www.rocktostop.org), an organization that brings the community together for non-violence through rock & roll music, art, and fashion.

Passion alone, however, doesn’t equal success. Without action, patience, and the right team, your passion will not develop into a profitable venture.

Here are my top five must do’s to help you be a take charge, live your dream, make a positive difference success:

Take Personal Inventory: Make personal choices with healthy self-loving boundaries using my five favorite boundary setting words, “that doesn’t work for me.” Take personal inventory and cut out any personal drama and doubters and develop a successful personal infrastructure first.

Don’t Treat Your Business Like Pasta: You have heard the old saying “throw everything up against the wall until something sticks” right? Great for pasta, not great for business. Before you begin to develop your business plan, develop a vision. Spend 10 minutes each day picturing what you want your business to look like, feel like, the type of people you want working with you, and how you see yourself operating it. Stick to your vision and adopt a “see” it before making it happen habit.

Avoid Super Woman Syndrome: When I first started out I was a one super woman show. When I had finally attracted the world famous House of Blues and Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation as supporters for my second annual event, I had to learn to

Eighteen schools in Washington state will receive large federal grants, part of a $3.5 billion effort to overhaul the nation's lowest-performing schools.

Forty-one Washington schools applied for the three-year awards, but there wasn't enough money for all of them. Together, the 41 schools asked for $49 million for the 2010-11 school year. Washington state will receive only $50 million total for three years.

To win one of the federal grants, school districts had to agree to make one of four major changes at each school: close it; replace its principal and at least half its staff; turn it into a charter school; or "transform" it. The latter has a number of requirements such as tougher teacher evaluations.

All the winning Washington schools will use the "transform" option, except three of Tacoma's middle schools. One of those is closing, and two others will replace its principal and at least half its staff.

For the first year of the grant, Seattle Public Schools will receive $2.1 million for three schools: Cleveland High, Hawthorne Elementary and West Seattle Elementary. The Highline School District will receive $1.8 million for Cascade and Chinook middle schools. Marysville School District will receive $2.1 million for Totem

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

University of Washington President Mark Emmert, right, greets Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, at the Seattle conference of Western college leaders on Monday. The UW gathering was one of five being held around the U.S. this month. Read story

College leaders from this state aren't alone in trying to figure out how to navigate a massive erosion in public funding for their institutions. On Monday, leaders from about 30 colleges in the Western United States met at the University of Washington to strategize about how to "reset" their finances.

Oregon Institute of Technology named one of 10 best green study programs

April 27, 2010, 4:37PM

Oregon Institute of Technology, which powers its Klamath Falls campus with geothermal heat, has been selected to a list of the schools that offer the best "green" study programs.

WiseChoice, an on-line college guidance service, included OIT's Renewable Energy program among its top 10 list of programs. The course of study includes alternative fuels, windpower and geothermal heat. Graduates find jobs with utility companies, consulting firms, manufacturers and government agencies.

Earlier this month, OIT fired up the first geothermal combined heat and power plant in Oregon, and the only geothermal electric plant operating in the state. It has a capacity of 280 kilowatts using existing wells on the

ENGLEWOOD – Hundreds of Dwight Morrow High School students took part in a walkout Tuesday morning showing their displeasure with the state of the district’s budget. Voters rejected the tax levy increase in the April 20 election.

Dwight Morrow High School students hold signs April 27 encouraging motorists on Knickerbocker Road in Englewood to honk in support of their efforts protesting the state of the district budget.

The demonstration, which was organized through Facebook and forwarded text messages, began around 8:15 a.m. after homeroom and lasted until around 10 a.m. when education leaders asked the students to return inside.
Students held up signs asking motorists to honk in support of their education. Cheers rang out from the crowd each time a horn sounded.
Freshman Chanel Ortiz believed the rally was important.
"It’s good for everybody to participate in this because we really need this for our school and we really care about everything. We want a better education for us," she said. "We just need money for our school."
Students said even this year money has been tight and they have to bring paper to use the district printers. They were concerned about keeping events such as prom and trips, saying certain trips have already been canceled because of budget constraints.
Class size was another big issue on students’ minds. They worry about the quality of learning in larger classes.

Joining Dr. Miller will be a panel of distinguished expert educators: Dr.Mark Naison, Dr. Nancy Bailey, Jamaal Bowman, and Dr. Ruth Powers. Also joining us on the show will be parent-activist Aggie Kurzyna who will be discussing her run for a local Board of Education position in New Britain Connecticut.

The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr

Common Core Dilemma - Who Owns Our Schools?

Common Core Dilemma - Who Owns Our Schools?

In her new book, bestselling author Mercedes Schneider provides little-known details about the history of the Common Core State Standards. She lifts the veil on how the Common Core was developed, who was present in the back room, the push to copyright it so that test-makers could profit, and the urgency for governors to sign commitments before the standards were even completed. CCSS is publicized as being a state-led, teacher-developed approach guaranteed to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. By the end of this eye-opening book, readers will come to understand the CCSS and its attendant assessments as something very different -- an education-restricting, profit-garnering opportunity packaged as an education-sounding sales pitch. Common Core Dilemma will appeal to readers across the political spectrum who want to better understand the role of corporations, nonprofits, big donors with strings attached, and the federal government in exercising control in our schools.

Parents Can Opt Out - United Opt Out National

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The Education Bloggers Network is an informal confederation of more than 200 education reporters, advocacy journalists, investigative bloggers, and commentators. Members of the Education Bloggers Network are dedicated to providing parents, teachers, public education advocates and the public with the truth about public education in the United States and the efforts of the corporate education reform industry.

As Diane Ravitch noted in a post about the Education Bloggers Network, “If you blog and if you support public education as a pillar of our democracy, consider joining the Education Bloggers Network.”

To become part of the Education Bloggers Network contact Jonathan Pelto, founder and manager of the Network atjonpelto@gmail.com

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Diane Ravitch Website

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Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991

Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS Website

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

A compilation of news articles about charter schools which have been charged with, or are highly suspected of, tampering with admissions, grades, attendance and testing; misuse of funds and embezzlement; engaging in nepotism and conflicts of interest; engaging in complicated and shady real estate deals; and/or have been engaging in other questionable, unethical, borderline-legal, or illegal activities. This is also a record of charter school instability and other unsavory tidbits.